South Carolina is the No. 3 growth state in America, rising one spot from its ranking the previous year, according to the U-Haul® Growth Index analyzing customer moves during 2022.
People arriving in South Carolina in one-way U-Haul trucks increased by 1% over 2021, while departures dropped 2%.
Do-it-yourself movers arriving in the Palmetto State accounted for 50.9% of all one-way U-Haul truck traffic in and out of South Carolina (49.1% departures) to make it a top-four growth state for the fourth time since 2018.
“You still have big cities in South Carolina, but you can travel just outside those cities and be in the country. That’s appealing to a lot of people,” stated Matthew McCoy, U-Haul Company of Southern Atlantic Coast president.
“The cost of living in South Carolina is much lower than other states. I’m not surprised to see it moving up the U-Haul Growth Index. People who want to live near the beach or live in a less crowded, more rural area – while still having access to big-city amenities – are moving here.”
The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled according to the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks arriving in a city or state, versus departing from that city or state, in a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 2 million one-way U-Haul truck transactions that occur annually across the U.S. and Canada.
Texas is the No. 1 growth state for the fifth time since 2016. Florida, North Carolina and Virginia round out the top five growth states. California ranks 50th and Illinois 49th for the third year in a row, indicating those states saw the largest net losses of one-way U-Haul trucks.
South Carolina’s leading growth areas are the Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach and Charleston-North Charleston markets. Other notable net-gain cities are Spartanburg, Greenville, Easley, Anderson, Aiken, Florence, Summerville and Taylors.
While U-Haul migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states and cities are both attracting and maintaining residents. Visit myuhaulstory.com to view the additional growth state releases and national releases from the U-Haul Growth Index.
2022 U-Haul Growth States
| 1. | TEXAS (1) |
| 2. | FLORIDA (2) |
| 3. | SOUTH CAROLINA (4) |
| 4. | NORTH CAROLINA (19) |
| 5. | VIRGINIA (31) |
| 6. | TENNESSEE (3) |
| 7. | ARIZONA (5) |
| 8. | GEORGIA (23) |
| 9. | OHIO (24) |
| 10. | IDAHO (9) |
| 11. | COLORADO (7) |
| 12. | UTAH (28) |
| 13. | NEVADA (29) |
| 14. | INDIANA (6) |
| 15. | MISSOURI (39) |
| 16. | WISCONSIN (13) |
| 17. | MINNESOTA (17) |
| 18. | MONTANA (22) |
| 19. | NEW MEXICO (10) |
| 20. | ALABAMA (46) |
| 21. | IOWA (27) |
| 22. | OREGON (14) |
| 23. | WASHINGTON (15) |
| 24. | PENNSYLVANIA (48) |
| 25. | WEST VIRGINIA (26) |
| 26. | KENTUCKY (38) |
| 27. | DELAWARE (30) |
| 28. | CONNECTICUT (18) |
| 29. | MAINE (8) |
| 30. | VERMONT (12) |
| 31. | SOUTH DAKOTA (11) |
| 32. | NEBRASKA (20) |
| 33. | WYOMING (21) |
| 34. | MISSISSIPPI (37) |
| 35. | LOUISIANA (43) |
| 36. | WASHINGTON D.C.* (35) |
| 37. | NORTH DAKOTA (33) |
| 38. | NEW HAMPSHIRE (25) |
| 39. | KANSAS (40) |
| 40. | RHODE ISLAND (32) |
| 41. | ALASKA (16) |
| 42. | OKLAHOMA (44) |
| 43. | ARKANSAS (41) |
| 44. | MARYLAND (34) |
| 45. | NEW JERSEY (36) |
| 46. | NEW YORK (45) |
| 47. | MASSACHUSETTS (47) |
| 48. | MICHIGAN (42) |
| 49. | ILLINOIS (49) |
| 50. | CALIFORNIA (50) |
2021 growth rankings in parentheses
* Washington, D.C. is its own U-Haul market and is listed among growth states for migration trends purposes. Hawaii is omitted since state-to-state U-Haul truck moves do not occur.
U-Haul is the authority on migration trends thanks to its expansive network that blankets all 10 provinces and 50 states. The geographical coverage from 23,000 U-Haul truck- and trailer-sharing locations provides a broad overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.
Small business owners who are interested in joining the U-Haul Dealer Network at no cost and earning commissions from U-Haul rental transactions can visit uhaul.com/dealer to learn more and submit information to be contacted by a local representative.
